This invention relates to a unique package for syringes and, more particularly, the invention relates to a package having a unique external surface on the bottom wall thereof which can be used to hold the syringes after they have been removed from the package and prior to and after use. The invention further relates to a unique system for handling the dunnage material normally used in packaging and to a method for applying such dunnage material to the package.
Although the present invention may be utilized with all types of syringes, it has particular applicability for use with allergist's syringes. In the normal situation, the allergist prefers to purchase a group of syringes in a single sterile package. All of the syringes in the package are identical before they are filled. However, a technician or assistant normally fills each syringe with a different fluid before presenting the entire group to the allergist for use. Thus, it is essential to maintain the syringes in an ordered array between the time of filling and the time of use. Heretofore, there have been two approaches used in the packaging of syringes for this procedure. In one approach, the syringes were simply placed in random order in a sterile container, with no provision for the holding of the syringes in an ordered array between filling and use. In the other approach, the syringes were pre-packaged in a tray with notches which held the syringes in an ordered array before filling. Although this approach provided for the maintenance of order after filling, it also required that the technician extract each syringe from its position in order to fill it. Also, to provide an ordered array with one syringe in each notch, this type of tray required a projected area at least equal to the product of the length of each syringe and the center-to-center distance between adjacent syringes, multiplied by the number of syringes in the package. As the cost of formed thermoplastic packaging material is substantially proportional to the projected area of the package, packages designed by the second approach were quite expensive to produce.